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Ok, so I know it's kind of picture overload. But it was that great of a day. It had to be well documented! This isn't even half of the pictures. Ha! We had been to Hogle Zoo a few years ago, but we loved it so much more this time. It might be because Elliott is older. Or maybe I was just in a better mood. Who knows! We went to a few shows which were really amusing. Elliott was so inquisitive, running from exhibit to exhibit asking questions, pointing out the animals and some of the quirky things about them. It was so much fun. During the bird show, they had a dance contest with all of the kids down on the "stage" and of course, my little dancer won a prize. That kid has got some mad skills in the rhythm department. Makes a mama proud! The zoo also had this fun exhibit all over the zoo of life sized animals made completely out of legos. It was awesome! The monkeys were my favorite, but came in close with the polar bear. But the best part of my day (besides the dance contest) was the painting elephant. Yes, painting elephant! They actually sell the paintings at the gift store and we were so tempted to splurge on one. I told Preston that I need one for our anniversary. The zoo also added a little splash park for the kids which had little faux tide pools for the kids to explore complete with urchins and starfish. It was pretty rad. Elliott loved their lighthouse slide too! We had initially planned on being at the zoo for a few hours, leaving at lunch. Turns out we stayed for nearly nine hours! So yeah, it was a lot of fun.

And now for more on the dancing cockatoo. Remember that? Well, here is the proof! It's one of the funniest things I think I have ever seen. And here I thought Elliott had rhythm! Watch the video and at about 40 seconds in, you'll see it. It's hard to miss. It also shows Elliott winning his prize! Atta boy!

Elliott officially had his first day of preschool yesterday. I say officially because there were two days of parent orientation. Two! It was harder than I expected sending him off. It's not his first time going to preschool, but for some reason being in a public preschool is different. He'll be in class 12 hours every week which is awesome for everyone, but you know. I'll miss my little man. He of course ran full speed into the classroom and didn't look back. Typical. He loves it! He even came home excited about a little homework assignment. Homework on the first day? Of preschool? It was a fun assignment and he even said "I love homework!" Lets hope we can keep up that enthusiasm over the next 14 plus years. Hope all of you have had successful first days and weeks of back to school!

P.S. Yes, he's holding what he insists is a "telescope" (toilet paper roll)

Last weekend we went down to Granary Rowto visit our friend Stacey and her awesome truck and we had a blast visiting all the other trucks, eating great food truck food (there is a difference) and listening to the band. While the band was setting up, they let Elliott go up and sing a few songs for the crowd. He loved it! And the crowd was too kind to clap and whoop even though he messed up the words at times. What a great crowd! We will definitely be back to visit to try out different food trucks and enjoy the other various activities they have. I mentioned that the only thing that could make it better was if they had a huge colorful slide for kids to play on while the parents relax and enjoy an iced hot chocolate. That would be the life.

Remember how I said I would share more about our trip to Denver? Here are a few pictures that kind of sum it up. We had a blast with Melanie and co. hanging out, eating seriously amazing food, going on an ice cream crawl(the winning flavor was salted oreo - life changing!) hitting up some parks and a lot more. We had never been to Denver and we were surprised by how much we loved it! The downtown area is full of fun things to do and sites to see. I am so glad we visited in the warmer months so we could actually enjoy walking around. We owe all of our fun to our hosts of course. Thank you, Blodgetts for an amazing time. Denver, we hope to see you again soon!

Is this kid not the cutest? He is so sweet and just down right lovable.

This Saturday we will be peddling our goods at the SLC Pop-Up Shop! We're pretty stoked about it. There are going to be some amazing crafters and bloggers there. Great goods to buy and even some workshops to participate in! Oh, and did I mention that Waffle Love will be there? Yeah. It's gonna rock your socks off, so you better be there. And bring an extra pair of socks.

I'm signing off a litt early this week. I will be a vendor at Bijou Market - a handmade market that is awesome and will rock your socks off - and need all the time I can get to prepare! I am elbow deep in cement! Ok, maybe just wrist deep. But you get the idea. And for some reason I felt compelled to make all new price tags and watercolor them no less. I might be losing it. But I love the way everything is turning out! If you are in the Utah area, stop by and check it out! I'd love to see you! Besides Bijou, we will be spending the weekend with some friends we just don't see often enough for only living 40 minutes away. I am hoping we will squeeze in some time for a visit to the museum of art and my favorite restaurant. We shall see! Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

I wrote up a little article on the little things that Preston and Elliott do together both on a regular basis and as special daddy and me time. It warms my heart to watch them together, playing and reading and telling lame jokes. It also gives me (the only girl) some much appreciated alone time! If you are interested in seeing more about it, here is the article over on The Neighborhood!

Wow. Is it ever cold around here! On Saturday night, Elliott and Preston went on to the store and it was 5 degrees. 5! Needless to say we haven't really left the house the last few days. Except to knock down some horrific icicles that constantly develop around the house and salt the outside stairs. So this weekend consisted of a lot of down time watching movies (like this one!), reading books and doing "tricks" on the couch. He's a trapeze artist in training! Here's to hoping the weather improves soon. Happy Monday to you!

This weekend we spent a lot of time around the house. I have been a little sick so we found fun things to do at home. Preston and I got all caught up on Downton Abbey in time for the season three premier (did you watch?), we played a lot with shadows and I did some planning for the blog and shop. I also experimented with some new jewelry ideas and I am happy to report it's going well! I hope you all had a great weekend. Happy Monday!